Best hiring year in 15 years for US
Print Edition
The United States capped its best year for hiring in 15 years with a healthy gain in December, and the unemployment rate reached a six-year low. The numbers support expectations that the US will strengthen further this year even as overseas economies stumble.
The Labor Department said yesterday that employers added 252,000 jobs last month and 50,000 more in October and November combined than it had previously estimated. The jobless rate dropped to 5.6 percent from 5.8 percent in November. The rate is at its lowest point since 2008.
Yet wage growth remains weak. Average hourly pay slipped 5 US cents in December. And the unemployment rate fell partly because many of the jobless gave up looking for work and so were no longer counted as unemployed.
American businesses have been largely shrugging off signs of economic weakness overseas and continuing to hire at healthy rates. The US economy’s steady improvement is especially striking compared with the weakness in much of the world.
Europe is barely growing, and its jobless rate is nearly double the US level. Japan, the world’s third-largest economy, is in recession. Russia’s economy is cratering as oil prices plummet. China is straining to manage a slowdown. Brazil and others in Latin America are struggling.
Fears about significantly cheaper oil spooked investors earlier this week before financial markets recovered. But most economists remain optimistic that lower energy prices will benefit US consumers and many businesses and give the American economy a further boost.
The improving jobs picture has healed some of the deep scars left by the Great Recession. The number of people who have been unemployed for more than six months fell 27 percent last year. And the number working part time who would prefer full-time work dropped 12 percent.
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